🚀 go-pugleaf

In <39v51i$212@boris.eden.com> twinkie@eden.com twinkie@eden.com writes:

>I ride in Critical Mass because it's the one day out of the whole month 
>that I can ride in safety.

Right up until someone gets pissed off about you blocking traffic.

>
>I ride in Critical Mass because I dislike having to depend on my car to 
>get around and would like to be able to ride my bike more.

So for this you have to deliberately obstruct traffic?

>
>I ride in Critical Mass because Austin was once a Clean Air City (up 
>until this year) and now we are subjected to ozone warnings.

And you think blocking traffic helps this?

>
>I ride in Critical Mass because, as American citizens, we have a  
>right to assembly, and demonstration is an integral part of political 
>change.  

But you don't have a right to interfere with everyone else's 'rights'.
Where have people gotten this idea that 'peaceably assemble and petition
the government' equates to blocking traffic and civil disobedience?

>
>I won't apologize if it makes you uncomfortable.  Many people were
>uncomfortable during the Civil Rights Movement during the '60's.  But can
>you say that African-Americans were wrong to demand equality? 

Can you say 'non sequiter'?  I thought you could.  Now then, since you
don't care about how you make other people feel, obstructing *their*
right to use public facilities, why, then I won't feel too badly if
someone decides to run over you.  Just think of it as evolution in
action. 

>
>The bicycle is democratic by its very nature.  Affordable and  easy to 
>repair, it is accessible to all.  It requires very little maintenance, 
>and you can park it anywhere.  It is health-giving to the user and does 
>not emit any ozone-depleting gasses. 

So move to Asia, where they use a lot of them.  Watch out for those
little motorcycles, though.
 
>
>A car, on the other hand, is very expensive to purchase, to operate, and
>to maintain.  It is complicated in its structure, so that it requires
>specialized and comparitively frequent maintenence.  And it pollutes the
>environment.              

Very odd, since most dedicated bikers I know spend a lot more time
tinkering with their bikes than I do tinkering with my car.  And we
won't even mention what some of those fancy bikes *cost*; hell, you
could buy *two* old cars for that!

>
>The point is, just because something is status-quo, doesn't make it right. 
>Even if you don't want to ride a bike, you could at least learn to share
>the road with those of us who do.

Well, the point is that it's not 'sharing' when you want everything your
way and don't care if you obstruct other people (which is what Critical
Mass is all about).  I think you should be subject to all the same
traffic rules if you want to be treated as 'vehicles' (which the law
says you are) -- and that includes obstructing traffic by not going at
the prevailing speed.

Peddle faster . . . .
 

--
"Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don't have the balls to live
 in the real world."   -- Mary Shafer, NASA Ames Dryden
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
merlin@annwfn.com -- I don't speak for others and they don't speak for me.